Photo: Maurice Pullin · CC BY-SA 2.0Box is inside the Cotswolds National Landscape
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 100% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Box add up to 3.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Box grades A+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Box?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Box’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by parks close to every home.
Box grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Box, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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Graded, never part of the overall grade (like History and Civic life). It measures what is mapped: OS Open Greenspace leaves out woodland and open-access land that isn’t a park, and OpenStreetMap’s rural paths are more complete in some places than others.
Box is 3rd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,200 to 1,400 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Box stands out most for park space per resident: only 13 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hightown Hampshire | A+ | 15.7 | 100% | 3.5 | 58% |
| 2 | Rough Common Kent | A+ | 11 | 100% | 9.2 | 1% |
| 3 | Box Wiltshire | A+ | 3.8 | 100% | 3.9 | 56% |
| 4 | Aldington Kent | A+ | 4.6 | 100% | 3.8 | 11% |
| 5 | Holybourne Hampshire | A+ | 12.2 | 100% | 2.7 | 23% |
| 6 | Amberley Gloucestershire | A | 13.7 | 0% | 6.3 | 87% |
| 7 | Box Hill Surrey | A | 35.9 | 12% | 6 | 39% |
| 8 | Cliffs End Kent | A | 6.9 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 9 | South Heath Buckinghamshire | A− | 20.4 | 0% | 3 | 85% |
| 10 | Exton Devon | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 0.6 | 7% |
| 11 | Westfield East Sussex | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 83% |
| 12 | New Brancepeth County Durham | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 13 | Baddesley Ensor Warwickshire | B+ | 18.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Marshfield Gloucestershire | B+ | 4.9 | 42% | 2.7 | 99% |
| 15 | Farningham Kent | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 33% |
| 16 | Lidlington Bedfordshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 17 | Minster Lovell Oxfordshire | B | 3.6 | 79% | 1.5 | 37% |
| 18 | Sutton Benger Wiltshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 19 | Beer Devon | B | 1.6 | 50% | 2.2 | 43% |
| 20 | Weir Lancashire | B | 0.6 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 21 | Codmore Hill West Sussex | B− | 3.5 | 0% | 2.7 | 46% |
| 22 | Potten End Hertfordshire | B− | 2.4 | 73% | 2.2 | 44% |
| 23 | Blindley Heath Surrey | B− | 3.2 | 79% | 2.2 | 1% |
| 24 | Blakeney Gloucestershire | B− | 2.1 | 68% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Fowlmere Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.5 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 26 | Marlpit Hill Kent | B− | 2.5 | 0% | 2.9 | 35% |
| 27 | Burham Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 77% | 2.8 | 35% |
| 28 | Gaerwen Gwynedd | C+ | 1.5 | 100% | 0.4 | 7% |
| 29 | Weobley Herefordshire | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 30 | North Duffield North Yorkshire | C | 2.6 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Biddulph Moor Staffordshire | C | 8.4 | 43% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Silkstone Common South Yorkshire | C | 1.5 | 63% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 33 | Coedhirwaun West Glamorgan | C | 2 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Nefyn Gwynedd | C | 0 | 0% | 2 | 24% |
| 35 | Foxton Cambridgeshire | C | 2.3 | 84% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Atworth Wiltshire | C− | 1.5 | 62% | 2.2 | 13% |
| 37 | Ninfield East Sussex | C− | 1.8 | 50% | 1.4 | 50% |
| 38 | Spratton Northamptonshire | C− | 2.3 | 85% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Weeley Essex | C− | 7.5 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Langthorpe North Yorkshire | C− | 0.3 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Aldbrough East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 26% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Wooden Dyfed | D | 0.1 | 0% | 0.4 | 18% |
| 43 | Yardley Gobion Northamptonshire | D | 1.2 | 47% | 3 | 0% |
| 44 | East Markham Nottinghamshire | D | 2.2 | 46% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Bampton Devon | D | 1.5 | 22% | 1.6 | 5% |
| 46 | Pagham West Sussex | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 47 | Heddon-on-the-Wall Northumberland | D | 0.6 | 70% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Colsterworth Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 67% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Hockwold cum Wilton Norfolk | D | 1.6 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Garsington Oxfordshire | D | 0.4 | 65% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Fleet Hargate Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 76% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Appleby Magna Leicestershire | D | 1.7 | 46% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Saham Toney Norfolk | D | 3 | 18% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Croeserw West Glamorgan | D | 1.3 | 33% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Byfield Northamptonshire | D | 1.9 | 48% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Hadham Cross Hertfordshire | D | 0 | 0% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Elvington North Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Felton Northumberland | D− | 1.7 | 50% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Deeping St Nicholas Lincolnshire | D− | 0.7 | 80% | 0 | 0% |
| 60 | Hunger Hill Greater Manchester | D− | 0 | 0% | 2.4 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Box’s built-up area.
Everyone in Box lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 8 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 161 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Box
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the built-up area; circle size shows each one’s area. National Landscapes were called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty until 2023.
Cotswolds
56% of the land within 5 km of Box is National Park or National Landscape, more than 93% of UK towns.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Box
30 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Box and the kilometre around it, 3.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
The regional route here is the Macmillan Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Box: May to September
The village’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 89 | 64 | 56 | 57 | 63 | 60 | 65 | 73 | 61 | 89 | 94 | 94 |
March is the driest month (56 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 94 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Box →
8 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Box is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 8
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Bathford, 2.4 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Box
What are the best walks near Box?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Macmillan Way.
What is the nearest beach to Box?
Fossil Beach, 22 mi from the edge of the village, then Sugar Loaf Beach (24 mi). Box itself is inland.
How many people in Box live near a park?
100% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical UK town is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Box?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Box good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 79% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 80% (3.8 ha per 1,000 residents).
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Box’s overall grade.
Where Box’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, 16 October 2026.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Historic England, National Heritage List for England, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: ONS Census 2021 output areas.
- Grade: TownRatings’ Outdoors Grade, ranked against UK towns only.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.